Series: Routledge Advances in European Politics

Presenting a detailed explanation of party politics in the European
Union, this new book uses the Party of European Socialists (PES) as
a key case study, and tests the relevance of existing theoretical
work on the meaning, significance, and prospects for realising
other `Europarties'. This analysis operates from the assumption
that the PES's main goal is to influence the outcome of EU public
policy, rather than the more traditional party goals of vote
maximisation or office seeking. Secondly, by subjecting the PES to
careful scrutiny in two specific policy areas (employment and
environment) and for specific treaties (in particular the Treaty of
Amsterdam), it tests the PES's ability to construct policy to
influence actual policy outcomes. Finally, it shows that whilst the
PES was able to play a role in co-ordinating policy amongst the
member parties since its formation in 1992, its influence has been
exaggerated and the strength of the factors that limit its
effectiveness have been underestimated. It argues that domestic
policy imperatives and ideological differences between the member
parties have hindered the development of the PES, thereby advancing
our knowledge of Europarties and contributing to the literature on
the Europeanization of political parties. This book will be of
great interest to students and scholars of the European Union and
party politics in general.